The Houston Texans kick off their AFC South schedule with a home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at NRG Stadium. In this edition, we take a look at some series facts and also some Deshaun Watson stats ahead of the showdown with Jacksonville.
series facts
1. Since 1990, when playoff formats were last tinkered with, there have been 447 teams through 2018 that lost on Opening Day. Only 114/447 made the playoffs.
2. This is the ninth time in Texans history the club has started 0-1. 2/8 of those previous teams made the playoffs, and both were coached by Bill O’Brien: 2015 and 2018.
3. This is the 12th time in Jaguars history the club has started 0-1. Only 1/11 of those previous teams made the playoffs.
4. The Texans are 20-13 against the Jaguars with a 12-5 record at home.
5. The Texans are 12-5 against the Jaguars at home. Here is the breakdown by naming rights:
Reliant Stadium: 9-4
NRG Stadium: 3-1
6. The Texans’ 12-5 home record against the Jaguars is by far their best against any AFC South foe at home:
Jaguars: 12-5
Titans: 10-7
Colts: 5-12
7. Houston is 10-7 in initial encounters with the Jaguars with a 4-3 record at home.
8. The Texans are 2-3 against the Jaguars in September with a 1-2 record at home.
9. The Texans are 25-33 in September with a 13-14 record at home.
10. Jacksonville is 37-47 in September with a 23-21 record on the road.
11. Houston is 94-112 in early afternoon games with a 60-52 record at home.
12. The Jaguars are 123-152 all-time in early afternoon games with a 54-85 record on the road.
deshaun watson facts
13. As a starter, Watson is 3-1 in initial encounters with AFC South teams with a 1-0 record at home.
14. Watson has a 3-1 record against the AFC South at home.
15. Watson and Brian Hoyer are the only Texans quarterbacks to start and finish sweeps of the Jaguars in their first season with the team.
16. Watson is 0-1 in home openers.
17. Watson produced a 66.7% completion percentage in Week 1, tied with Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, and Jimmy Garoppolo for the 16th-best in the NFL.
18. Watson’s three touchdowns from Week 1 are tied for the third-most in the NFL. Only Lamar Jackson with five and Dak Prescott with four threw more.
19. Watson’s six sacks were the most sustained in Week 1.
20. Watson’s six sacks on Opening Day are tied with David Carr in 2002 and Tom Savage in 2017 for the most.
21. Watson and Russell Wilson were tied for the highest sack percentage in the NFL in Week 1 at 16.7%.
22. Watson’s 8.9 yards per pass attempt were the 10th-most in the NFL in Week 1.
23. Watson was tied with Matt Stafford for the 12th-highest time to throw in the NFL at 2.73 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats.
24. Watson’s 10.3 intended air yards were the fifth-highest in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.
25. Watson had the sixth-highest “air yards to sticks” in Week 1 at 0.5. In other words, according to Next Gen Stats, Watson’s throws were a half-yard ahead of the sticks on average.
